


King and the Lionheart

by Crab_Lad



Series: Crab's need for clone wars content [32]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: !!! i promise, Angst and Feels, First Kiss, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Inspired by Music, Introspection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24693811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crab_Lad/pseuds/Crab_Lad
Summary: CC-2224 has never known anything outside the blinding white walls and roaring oceans outside of Kamino. He’s a small cadet of 3 when Jango, their originator leans over and says it.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Crab's need for clone wars content [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1662106
Comments: 12
Kudos: 292





	King and the Lionheart

**Author's Note:**

> okay yes i was listening to the same song as the title and thought of this. I'm,,, just rlly emotional over these lads,,,

CC-2224 has never known anything outside the blinding white walls and roaring oceans outside of Kamino. He’s a small cadet of 3 when Jango, their originator leans over and says it.

“One day, you’ll be the best of them. You’ll show them  _ kote _ .” 

CC-2224 is foolish enough to believe this. He’s too naive to know that Jango isn’t looking out for them, not in the way he should, not in the way he could. Little Boba gets treated with such care, and yet CC-2224 is pushed harder  _ faster stronger. _ Each time he fell Jango would only demand he get up and show them all true  _ kote _ . 

It’s not that he doesn’t want to be the best, he does. He just longs for the world beyond their planet, away from the training that he can see is tearing his brothers down. So he does strive to be the best, to take the pressure off the others, to help the others. There’s little in his control, but he can do this one thing. 

_ Vode’ike _ are to be cherished. That’s drilled into their heads day after day by  _ Alor _ . Jango makes sure they know to care for the small ones. But  _ Kote _ can’t figure out why Jango won’t do it himself.  _ Kote _ sees how  _ Alor  _ treats Boba, the compassion, the softness.  _ Kote  _ wants that. 

He’s the age of 5 when he meets a younger cadet, Rex, and promises to be for Rex what he wants for himself. It doesn’t matter that he’ll face consequences for protecting Rex, for deviating regulations to make sure his  _ vod’ika _ is okay.  _ Vode’ike _ are to be cherished, and  _ Kote _ will never forget that. 

Not even after Rex is threatened to be decommissioned, and  _ Kote  _ fights for him. Fights so hard, and so well he’s proud when Rex gets put into Command Training. Rex’ika won’t make it any higher than a Captain, at least not here. But it’s a feat that he’s sure to make Rex know he’s proud of. 

Kote is the age of 10 when his whole world changes. The  _ Jetti  _ finally find them, and they all know war is coming.

Jango’s death comes a day later, and Kote has a hard time really mourning the man. But what matters is Rex made it back safe. His eyes are wide and wild, and he’s shaking like a leaf, but when he sees Kote it’s like everything else fades away. They meet, arms tangled together as Rex sobs into his chest, one of the first ones to experience true loss of  _ vode _ at that magnitude. 

He’s not sure he know how. But he makes eye contact with one of the high generals, General Windu if he remembers correctly, and knows that he was the one to give the final blow that ended their originator. Something must show, even through the helmet, because Windu nods at him, an apology in his eyes.

Kote doesn’t understand why the  _ Jetti _ is guilty. The only thing that Kote worries about now from Jango is Boba. Boba hadn’t come back, and now no one knows where he is. As envious as he was of Boba, Boba was still  _ vode’ike _ . And  _ vode’ike  _ are to be cherished. 

Kote is 10 when he first meets his general. 

“Commander CC-2224 reporting for duty sir,” Kote salutes, standing straight and still like he’s always been taught. 

“And your name?” the soft tilted voice asks.

Kote is surprised, no one but  _ vode  _ had cared for their names. Jango had tried, but even he had gotten mixed up.  _ Vode _ could tell each other apart instantly, even despite their identical faces. Still, they had been told that the  _ Jettise  _ are professional, careful. They follow the regulations and the regulations have nothing on names. 

“CC-2224, sir,” Kote answers hesitantly, nervously. He doesn’t want to slip up, he doesn’t want to fail before everything’s just begun. 

But the  _ Jetti  _ shakes his head, smiles a sad smile and commands, “Your name, Commander. Not your number.” 

Kote has a moment to make a decision. A small miniscule moment, before they load onto the flag ship with General Kenobi and his sh- Padawan Skywalker. If this is a test, he’s going to fail either way. He’d rather get punished for having a name than defying a superior officer. Still, he doesn’t want to be associated with him on Kamino, doesn’t want to be that sad little boy looking for Jango’s approval. 

“Cody, Sir,” Cody answers. 

General Kenobi smiles something warm, his accent curling around the words like a hug as he repeats, “Cody. Wonderful to meet you my dear Commander. Please, get yourself situated aboard, I will be with you shortly.” 

Cody is ten years old when he encounters the first person who treats him like a sentient being, and not a mindless droid. 

General Kenobi’s kindness is enough to bring back that old drive of his, the drive to impress, to be better, do better. He pushes himself, just as Jango had pushed him, and soaks in every compliment the General gives him. But Cody ignores the worried looks of his troopers. It doesn’t matter, he is doing what he needs to prove himself, to show that he’s worthy of Kenobi’s kindness. Still, he doesn’t take the time to linger on why he feels so light when Kenobi says his name in that way of his, or why he feels so breathless whenever Kenobi smiles at him. They’re not bad, so he doesn’t bother. There are other things to worry about, the war, and brothers dying in waves. 

It’s hard sometimes to walk through the lines of men after a battle, knowing that his split second decisions could have lost them their batchmates, or their friends. Their brothers. Cody can’t bear to think what would happen if one of his batchmates died. Constant had been decommissioned before he had fully gotten close to him, and Fox had always been the closest to their eldest batchmate. He supposes he’s lucky to still have Bly, Ponds, Wolffe, Fox, and Rex.

Rex serves under them for a while, fighting alongside Cody as one of the Captains of the 212th. When Rex is bestowed his Jaig Eyes, Cody feels lighter than air, heart warm and full and face beaming wide. Rex has earned it, he earned that rightfully, and Cody can’t be prouder. But that pride for his little brother only grows when he’s appointed his own battalion, underneath Skywalker who had been promoted to General. Rex looks awkward in his pauldron and his kammas, but the blue suits him better, Cody thinks. 

His first kiss happens when he’s eleven. Clone years mind you, if you were to translate that to standard years he’d be the age of 22. 

Ke- Obi-Wan surprises him after a battle. Face stern and grim. He chews him out, yelling loud enough for the entire wing to hear them. Cody doesn’t care. He can’t care. Not when he had seen the war break down his general, and now he was finally coming alive. The fire in those blue eyes was enough to make him grin, chuckling at his angry Jedi. Obi-Wan gapes at him, anger draining from his face. 

“You’re cute when you’re angry,” Cody admits, not even ashamed. He’s done enough, followed regs to a T. He deserves a risk now and again, and he couldn’t think of a better one. He’s putting himself out on the line, for Obi-Wan. Because Obi-Wan is worth it, and Cody likes to think they’re close enough they could recover from a rejection. 

Obi-Wan flounders, sputtering as his face turns red. 

“I’m supposed to be yelling at you,” Obi-Wan finally manages to stutter out. 

Cody returns it with a small grin, “Well I also don’t see you objecting.” 

It’s so easy to stand and move into Obi-Wan’s space, mindful of his injuries. It feels as natural as breathing to cup the  _ Jetti _ ’s face in his hands, to brush his thumbs over those freckled cheeks. He’s beautiful on the field, all deadly power and glowing blade. But up close, mouth open in an O, eyes wide and nervous, Cody can’t help but think he was blessed with the most beautiful Jedi. Not just his looks, but who he was too. Obi-Wan was perfect, not a perfect person, but perfect for him. Cody wasn’t one to believe in the Force, not in the spiritual sense as the Jedi, but for once, he could agree that maybe it had done something right. 

“Yes, well, frankly Cody I don’t see you listening.”

Obi-Wan huffs adorably, but Cody is glad he’s not making a big deal of the position. Still, he’s not done, and wants to test one more limit. 

“Can I kiss you?”

Cody understands more than anyone not having a choice. He doesn’t want to rob Obi-Wan of it like everyone else had of him. If Obi-Wan says no, he’ll step back and it’ll be business as usual. It’s too much to ask, he knows, for Obi-Wan to break his code for him. But Cody can’t help but be selfish for once, hoping that this ends where he wants. He can’t force it, and so he won’t.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan responds breathily. 

Cody is twelve when he first realizes what the war is really doing to his brothers. They’ve lost Waxer in one of the most recent battles, but more 212th die each day. The shinies come in younger, sending out at 9 now. They’re so young and innocent compared to the gritty battles out here. He wants nothing more than to shield them, but he knows he can’t. This is what they were made for, this was their purpose. 

Fox has grown even more distant. He’s reclusive, barely speaking when they do meet. Cody notes that he’s the youngest  _ vod _ to start greying. It makes Cody resent the Chancellor for working Fox to the bone, for dragging the Guard through everything. They’re already spread through as it is, and the Chancellor only adds to their responsibilities. 

Wolffe has hardened. Even more than Cody himself has. Something heavy falls in his chest when he realizes he can’t remember the last time he saw Wolffe smile, can’t remember the last time he heard his brother’s laugh. Wolffe keeps more contact than Fox, but even still it’s short and curt. He’s too busy with his Pack. 

Ponds… Ponds hadn’t even made it to year two of the war. He was the first one Cody had a connection to that died. He wasn’t the last. Cody has seen so many of his friends fall in this war, and each time he gets the news a piece of him dies.

Bly seems to be the only one faring. He and General Secura are so wrapped up in each other they barely have time for anything else. Cody knows Bly has a big heart, knows that Bly isn’t letting himself process everything. That was the biggest thing he took from Kamino. Cody wants to shake his brother out of it, to force him to focus, to filter. Repression only goes so far, and Cody should know. 

Rex has grown up faster than he needed. Rex, who’s only a year younger than Cody, is already far more mature than the little cadet Cody found in that supply closet. Rex has lost more men than Cody, simply due to the sheer size of his Legion, but also due to his Jedi’s reckless behavior. Their numbers are nowhere near where Krell’s had been, but still, it makes Cody wonder. He doesn’t want to see Skywalker’s brashness get his little brother killed. 

Cody knows the war has changed him. But he can’t bring himself to care. Not when Obi-Wan holds him at night, reads him poems when they both can’t sleep. Not when he clings to Obi-Wan, offering comfort in nights where the nightmares get too much. 

He just hopes it all ends soon, that there’s a happy ending. 

CC-2224 is thirteen when he gets the order to fire on Cody’s partner. Cody fights as best he can, he really tries. But CC-2224 takes control, commands the blast. Helplessly, Cody watches Obi-Wan fall down to the water. Somewhere deep inside he knows Obi-Wan didn’t die from the fall, knows he’s alive still. Yet there’s nothing Cody can do, not while CC-2224 invades everything and purges Cody to the back of his head. 

Cody is 22 years old when he witnesses the last fight between brothers. He’s survived in the Empire long enough, and had never expected to see Obi-Wan one more time. But his Jedi is there, old and grey, but Cody would know those blue eyes anywhere. 

He’s barely breathing as Obi-Wan lifts his plain white helmet off, cups his face oh so similar to that moment years ago, and leans forward. Their foreheads touch, a warm touch to two people who have missed each other for too long. 

Cody makes the decision there, to help him regardless of what happens, regardless of the consequences. That’s his Jedi, and he would do anything for him. He’s Obi-Wan’s, just as much as Obi-Wan is his. Later, aboard the Falcon with the whiney twins of Skywalker (you had to be a fool not to see it) and the grumpy smuggler, he realizes that without him, things could have ended horribly. Obi-Wan might not have survived long enough to get back on the ship, to rest here, in Cody’s arms. 

Cody is 26 years old when he and Obi-Wan finally witness a free galaxy. It’s been a long road, but as he looks over at Obi-Wan, their hands entwined as the sun sets on Yavin 4, Cody can’t wish for anything else. 

**Author's Note:**

> :dabs: if you want to scream at me my tumblr is crablad


End file.
